This invention relates to dental hygiene devices. In particular, this invention provides an appliance for cleaning teeth both with brushing action and with liquid spray or jet action. The brush loosens plaque from tooth surfaces and the jet flushes away the plaque debris. The appliance also provides gingival stimulation and enhances the peripheral capillary dental circulation.
Conventional hand brushing dental hygiene practices are fairly efficient for cleaning smooth facial and lingual surfaces of the teeth because the bristle tips of a conventional toothbrush can readily access these broad surfaces. However, major incidences of tooth decay and of periodontal disease occur in interproximal areas such as crevices between adjacent teeth and the pits and fissures of the occlusal surfaces. Cleaning these areas with traditional hand brushing methods generally is unsatisfactory, with ineffective removal of residue and of dental plaque, and resulting in increased susceptibility to tooth decay and periodontal disease.
Among the prior techniques proposed to solve these problems are powered brushes, in which the entire brush head is moved while water or another fluid is emitted from the brush head. Other prior art techniques are powered brushes in which the brush head has rotating tufts of bristles, and liquid jet devices.
Powered brushes in the first category, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,754 issued to Cleverdon, have a brush structure similar to that of a hand brush, augmented by the delivery of a stream of liquid between the brush bristles. The fluid flow is intended to increase the cleaning effect of the brush and provide cleaning in crevices the brush cannot reach. However, the powered brushes suffer disadvantages similar to a hand brush.
Powered toothbrush apparatus of the second category, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,795 issued to Crawford et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,620 issued to Clemens, commonly rotate individual tufts of the brush head. This type of toothbrush apparatus can be further divided into those in which the tufts are continuously rotated in one direction, and those in which the tufts rotate in one direction and then rotate in the other direction. Brushes in which tuft rotation is unidirectional tend to move out of crevices between large surfaces of teeth. The prior brushes in which the tufts alternate direction of rotation, i.e. with bidirectionally rotatable tufts, are limited to cleaning those surfaces of the teeth that are accessible to the bristles.
An alternative method of dental hygiene is the use of liquid jet devices, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,786 issued to Kovach. These devices draw fluid from a reservoir and direct a fine, high-velocity jet at the dental area to be cleaned. By applying varying amounts of pressure, a liquid jet can also be used for massaging the gums. While a liquid jet is useful for cleaning small spaces that cannot be reached with a brush, it is not as efficient as a brush for cleaning large dental surfaces.
It accordingly is an object of this invention to provide a multiple-functioning dental hygiene apparatus for facilitating cleaning teeth with both a brushing action and with a jet spray action. It is a further object that the apparatus optionally provide a localized direct liquid application with the brushing action.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a multiple-functioning dental hygiene appliance of the above character that can deliver liquid dentifrice during cleaning with brush action and alternatively can deliver a cleaning liquid with the spray action.
A further object of the invention is to provide an oral hygiene device of the above character that has a relatively simple mechanism, that can be manufactured at a relatively low cost, and that can be compact and easy to use.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.